Anthem of the Seas Reviews

Summary:  This was the first time we have used Iglu, and I was very impressed by thier service, all the arrangements, the varrious transfers and hotels everything was spot on. On first view the ship looks absolutely huge but after a day or so, we managed to find our way around, and most of the dinng, bar, retail, entetainment areas were actually quite accessible mainly on deck 4 and 5. The Cabin, an outside with picture window was the biggest we have stayed in and was very spscious and well decorated, only slight problem was no tea or coffee facilities in the cabin. The My Time Dining was a major issue on day 1, but as lomg as you ring as soon after 0900 as possible we got pretty much what we wanted, If you want to sit at the same table then that can also be arranged. Food in the dining rooms was very good, allthough out of the 10 choices, 7 are the same for the whole of the cruise. Lobster night however is not too be missed. THe speciality restuarants again very expensive. The Windjammer, was by far the best open self service restuarant we have seen at Sea, lots of choice, some food cooked to order, free soft drinks, teas and coffees etc. The entetainment is very difficult to work out and you need to plan, as often the shows are on during meal times, but We Will Rock You was fantastic, so was a choir from Texas and the Music Hall and the Pub have live music every evening. But a very good range of activities to enjoy from bumper cars to ifly. My main issue was the tipping process, every thing you buy, which is pretty much everything, is firstly far more expensicve than say P&O and has tax and a tip automatically added, this is on top of the £14.50 per person pe day which is added to your bill. In terms of places, Bar Harbour, too small for this size of ship, but the Tour to Acadia Park was stunning. Boston, Portland, Halifax were excellent, The Tour to Kennebunkport was the highlght of out trip, again fantastic. Saint Johns NB, not a lot to do, pretty much a waste of a stop And the trip around Manhattan on the way back to the airport was very good indeed. The Ship is excellent, The Service was excellent, The North East coast of America was fantastic. but the overt commercialism on the ship was a bit too much for us and the party I was with and after 9 days started to rankle a bit. In terms of flights, Virgin was very good, but if you have walking difficulties, ensure you apply for assistance, on our flight it was a 10-15 minute walk back to Immigration and Baggage reclaim.

Summary:  Although checking in on line with Royal Caribbean was a benefit, you had to be sure of doing it all at the same time otherwise you had to repeat the data input all over again each time, this wasn't clear when we started it. The result of checking in on line before departure was a definite benefit as it made the embarkation very smooth. Staff at Bayone were very professional and helpful. Although there were in excess of 6,000 people on board (passengers - 4,200 and crew 1,700) at no time did the ship feel overcrowded, which made for a pleasant experience. Food and beverage was of a high standard, very varied and plentiful. We attended the Gally Brunch tour of the ship and see just how the catering team worked (both night and day) and just how much fresh food, bakery and cakes are produced during the cruise - a massive amount. The cost of the speciality restaurants is a little on the high side and we chose not to add yet more cost to our already expensive cruise. State rooms were well decorated and maintain and the stateroom stewards looked after us very well. The shows and musical entertainment on board were extremely well produced (to West End standard) and professional ... the highlight of the cruise was watching 'We Will Rock You' - amazing. Being able to pre-book the shows either before departure or once on board was an added benefit to be sure of seeing what you wanted and when, however, you did need to get to the theatre early to get your prefered seat. Other entertainment and activities - North Start, Rip Cord, Flow Rider, bumper cars, roller skating etc etc were amazing to watch and participate in. The only negatives of our cruise was (1) we asked for the pre paid gratuities to be refundeded due to some of the services not meeting our expectations and wishing to reward staff on an individual basis. The Customer Services Manager confirmed this would be actioned and refunded to our credit card lodged at the time of embarkation, unfortunately this has not happened and feel that we have been duped into paying more gratuities than if we had stuck with the pre paid option. (2) The service charge added to every transaction at the bars is a bit excessive, when you are already paying a high price for drinks, especially when some people have already purchased a costly drink package. (3) The buffet restaurant closing at 9.00pm - we have never encountered this on any previous cruise. (4) The constant sale of items in the atrium - it was like a jumble sale and made it very difficult to walk through easily because of the throng of people milling around looking for a bargin. Therefore, we avoided that area of the ship. (5) The ships health & safety muster drill was inappropriate; commencing with an annimation of hand washing, followed by a spoof film regarding reterival of an item. The untilisation of lifejackets was demonstrated by a member of staff, but was not in full view of passengers, who were not given the opportunity to practice using a lifejacket should this become necessary in an emergency situation. I feel the muster was completely ineffectual and completed no more than a tick box exercise. All in all, we selected this cruise for the places it visited, RC could have added an additional port or a longer stay in Boston to the itinary as the first night and day we seemed to sail around in circles as the distance wasn't too far from Bayone to Boston to be reached in the first nights sailing, afterall it only took one day from Saint John in New Brunswick to Bayone on our return journey. At the end of the day, notwithstanding our comments in para 4, it was a very enjoyable cruising experience with RC which we will look to repeat in the near future.

Summary:  Very nice ship. We had a sea view deck three window room. Very nice big bed very comfortable. Plenty of wardrobe and drawers. Excellent shower and bathroom. Food very good however the clash between shows and dining was strange. We visited Boston, Portland, Bar Harbour, Halifax and St John. Boston Portland and Bar Harbour were the highlights. Costs of. drinks and Wi Fi on ship were ridiculous. Wi Fi 20 dollars a day. They try to cut it down to 9 dollars a day for the last two days. The drinks package we thought was high but most people made the most of it. Even the soda package was high. Great pizza late at night in the sorrento bar with coffe and sodas. That’s why the soda package is not needed. Good shows with great music. The royal swedes were the best rock band but the girl why played guitar on we will rock you show was excellent and were the rest of that band.

Summary:  Great trip,could not fault the food(good variety daily),Service as expected was excellent, ship,although lacked a little wow factor,was very good.only pain was the constant gratuity and tax on every bill and the extortionate price of the Wi-Fi.Shio was very much geared up for American travellers but this did not put any damper on our holiday.

Summary:  We have just returned from another cruise and stay holiday expertly arranged by Iglu. All the travel arrangements went to plan from flights, passenger assistance for myself at the airports, transfers to and from our hotels and travel on the Amtrak train from Niagara Falls to New York. The Anthem Of The Seas was a beautiful ship and we couldn't fault our cabin and the friendly, helpful staff. There was plenty to see and do on board and a fantastic choice of food and drink. We will certainly be using Iglu for our next cruising holiday.

Summary:  I would never have normally booked a cruise on a ship as big as Anthem but the itinerary was right. I was very pleasantly surprised as the ship did not seem as enormous as I imagined once onboard. I also expected a bit of a poor relation to the Celebrity Cruises - I was wrong. What made this cruise were the staff - the ship had such a happy atmosphere and all the staff I encountered were brilliant - friendly, smiley and efficient. The ports of call were interesting - with the exception of St John - but enjoyed exploring them and it was great to be back in Boston. The first three nights in New York were the cherry on the cake - fabulous hotel.

Summary:  The Ship was very nice , however the service was not good which is not what I expected for a cruise sailing from the USA , We felt that there was not sufficient staff to cope with the 4900 passengers on board , especially in the resturants , we were on My time dining and went down to queue for dinner on Captains night and we had to wait over 1 hour for a a table , if they had a simple buzzer service like some resturants adopt you could have gone to the bar relaxed and had a drink , we also found some of the staff condecending to ask you to give a 10 for the service when actually they struggled for a 7 if the truth be known , RCI put tips on your room and then put a service charge with every drink you buy , why ? , the ship adopts a policy of booking on line for shows which works for some cabins and not others , plus people were trying to safe seats in the theatre which is out of order , it should be first come first served

Summary:  Everything about this cruise is wrong: Service - the worst I have experienced - it just didn’t exist. Food level below average fast food. And same every day. Specialty restaurants - that you have to pay for, have no selection at all. Restaurants close early and after 9 even to get water you have to go to deck 4, everything else is closed. Burger place - usually free on all ships, at the pool side - charges ridiculous amount. Entertainment - 1 show is decent but no organization - people just walking in the theater and without regard of everyone trying to watch the show and no one from staff cares or willing to help. I can go on and on about how bad this cruise was. Including huge overcharge for itself and anything on the ship. We have cruised about 25 times - this one is by far the worst one.

Summary:  We sailed from New Jersey on the Anthem on 3 March 2016 and tasted Jamaica, Hondrous, Mexico, Grand Cayman island and Haiti. We had a balcony room. I must just say - it was absolutely fantastic! The ship is out of this world. It has so many things to do and try. I loved the surfing, the rip cord ifly, rollarskating, bumper cars, rock climbing - everything - too much to mention. The food was excellent - would have enjoyed a few more Caribbean dishes though. The staff were excellent - always polite and friendly. The shows were good - not Broadway standards but watchable and enjoyable. We both had a wonderful time. I would thoroughly recommend this ship for all ages as there is so much to do and of course you have the choice to do nothing at all. The jacuzzis and swimming pools were just absolute bliss. They have thought of everything. Just fantastic

Summary:  Royal Caribbean are loosing their WOW factor with this Anthem class ship,with more negatives than positives. The Two 70 is a great success with some excellent shows such as Spectra, but we found ourselves looking for things to do too often. Their resident band Rock the Boat were a great find for us in the Music Hall. We have travelled with Royal Caribbean on many of their ships and we have always had plenty to do like watching ice or fruit sculpturing, the shops even seemed to have less to offer being targeted at the extreme rich rather than the average cruiser. We found the lack of formal nights a big disappointment, the chefs parade is always a great feature but not on this class of ship and when we did eat in one of the restaurants the menu did not particularly excite us as it has on previous ships. The Chic Restaurant served up cold stakes both times we ate in there, but Wonderland was a fantastic eating experience.